


Louise's Heart

by SarahShalomDavid



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24004177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahShalomDavid/pseuds/SarahShalomDavid
Summary: Andrea takes the day off to take her daughter to her cardiologist appointment but what happens when Miranda suddenly calls her in to work?
Relationships: Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs
Comments: 53
Kudos: 372





	1. Chapter 1

"Mamma!" The little girl shouted as she bounced in her crib, holding on to the edge.

Andrea smiled as she lay in her bed, listening to her daughter shouting for her as it was a sound that she was yet to grow tired of.

Her daughter was a little delayed compared to many neuro-typical children as she had been diagnosed as having Down Syndrome during pregnancy.

Andrea sat up and smiled as the shouts got louder and the child put her arms up into the air wanting to be picked up, "Ups! Ups! Me Ups!"

When Andrea had been pregnant, they had offered her a termination but she had refused. Every. Single. Time.

Nate did not feel the same way, however, as he was very insistent that she not go through with the pregnancy.

When she reached seven months gestation, Nate attempted to convince her again to have a termination and even booked an appointment.

That was when Andrea left. She moved in with her best friend; Doug.

He was there for her throughout the break-up, the pregnancy, and the birth. Then he carried on being there for her, insisting that her and her new born stay there with him. His job paid well and he was able to work from home too so he often offered to look after the child so that Andrea could work.

"Good Morning, LouLou." Andrea said cheerfully as she sat up in her bed and grinned at her baby girl.

"Mamammamamamama!" Came the excited and energetic response from the little one.

Andrea got out of bed and got Louise out of her cot to carry her back to the bed.

Louise leaned into her mother, hugging her as she chanted 'Mamama' a little quieter than she had been before.

The dark-haired woman held her daughter close to her as she walked, "I love you, my little Princess." She said softly as she lovingly kissed the top of Louise's head.

Louise was eighteen months old and had only recently started to talk.

Every milestone that the little girl hit was a celebration in the apartment.

Her first smile came at three months old.

Louise started to hold her own head up at four months old.

She sat on her own for the first time at six months old.

She took her first assisted steps when she was one-year-old.

Andrea and Doug documented everything with photos and videos, celebrating each milestone that she reached with meals out, take-aways, ice-cream, trips out, and mini parties. Each milestone was a different celebration.

Andrea sat down on the bed with Louise in her arms and leaned back against the headboard.

She still fed the little one naturally but also gave her expressed milk in a bottle although she was now on solid foods too.

The woman sat with her daughter feeding from her for a while, smiling down at the little miracle in her arms and stroking her cheek gently with her finger.

They soon got dressed for the day and went out for a walk, it was her day off and she planned to spend it with her daughter. Louise had an appointment with her heart specialist that day too which was the reason why she booked the day off.

Andrea took Louise to the park, putting her in a baby swing after wiping the swing down with an antibacterial wipe as she didn't like to take any risks when it came to her daughter. Especially with her heart condition.

Louise loved the swing, the motion always made her giggle and smile happily.

Andrea took some photos and sent them to Doug who had stayed home to do the conference calls that he had scheduled.

The text she got back said 'Glad you're having fun, she's so cute! My boss has already asked after Lou twice! I think we've spent more time talking about her than the latest financial merger LOL.'

She smiled at that response, "You are so popular baby girl." She told Louise who reacted to the woman's voice with a grin.

They spent a while in the park before Andrea got a phone call, "Where are you?"

"I'm in Central Park." Andrea replied.

"I need you here. That's all." Miranda stated before ending the call.

Andrea sighed, "Come on, LouLou, I have to go and see what's going on at Runway then we will go to your heart doctor later this afternoon, okay?"

Louise babbled away in response and giggled until she was lifted out of the baby swing. She pouted and her lip trembled, "I know baby, but Mommy has to go and see Miranda."

When they got to Runway, Andrea had Louise in her pram who was waving at everyone that they passed from the park all the way to Elias Clarke and inside the building too.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here." Emily said as soon as she saw Andrea, "It has been manic all morning, the idiots in the art department lost the book, a designer that was supposed to have an interview threw a tantrum and refused to answer any of the questions she was asked, a model destroyed not one but two dresses because apparently she went up a dress size and didn't bother to tell anyone... then..." Emily froze for a moment, "Why did you bring Louise?"

"It's my day off, remember? I booked it off weeks ago to take Louise to her cardiologist so we went to the park this morning." Andrea explained.

"Oh, bollocks! That was today?" Emily asked.

Andrea nodded, "Not yet, it is this afternoon at half four."

Emily sighed in relief, "She's so adorable." She said as she moved closer to the stroller and started to unbuckle her, "I am getting my cuddles."

Andrea smiled and nodded, "I'll leave her with you and go and see what it was Miranda wanted."

Emily nodded as she returned her attention to Louise, the little one was happily grinning and playing with Emily's long and fascinatingly bright hair. The child had been entertained by the bright red hair ever since she met the woman months previously.

"Oh, you're here." Miranda said, looking up from her computer, "What on Earth were you doing in Central Park?"

"I took Louise out for the morning before I have to take her to her cardiologist." Andrea explained patiently before adding, "I did book the day off weeks ago when the appointment came through for her."

"Ah, yes, I remember." Miranda took a deep breath, "It has been a trying morning."

"What did you need me for Miranda?" Andrea questioned.

"It doesn't matter now, Louise's appointment is much more important, please say I didn't make you miss it?" Miranda asked in reply, clearly a little worried about it.

"No, it got moved until this afternoon so her appointment is now half four." Andrea answered with a reassuring smile.

Miranda's attention turned to the door when she heard an excited squeal, "She's with you?"

"Well, people usually frown on it when you leave your child in Central Park unattended." Andrea joked with a smile.

Emily was leaning over and holding on to the girl's hands to help her walk around the office. Clearly it was entertaining the child as she was happily squealing and bouncing her little legs every now and then.

Miranda stood up from behind her desk, leaving her laptop and work abandoned on the glass top and moved forward a little, "Hello, Louise." She said as she knelt down a little, not caring about possibly ruining her designer skirt.

Louise got excited, a new person, she had never been taken to the Runway offices before and she had only met Nigel, Serena, Jocelyn, and Emily outside of work. Although she had met the twins a couple of times at the park when their nanny had happened to take them at the same time as well as once when she had to go with her mother to the townhouse one evening when Doug had a date.

The Editor-in-Chief smiled properly for the first time that day, "Hello."

Louise let go of one of Emily's hands to wave.

Miranda smiled brightly and put her arms out to the little girl.

Louise took a step forward and let go of Emily's other hand.

Emily looked a little panicked and looked over to Andrea to see what to do.

"She'll be okay, Em." Andrea reassured the woman.

Louise stood there, very still, not moving at all, her arms were out to the side as if she was surfing a wave.

Miranda moved her hands to try and beckon the girl forward, "Come on, you can do it."

"Well done, baby girl, look at you standing." Andrea said with a smile as she picked up her camera, recording the little one standing in Miranda's office.

One step.

That's all she took then she fell on her diaper cushioned bottom.

But she wasn't finished.

The little one started to get back up.

Miranda raised her hand to stop Emily who was about to pick up the fallen child.

Louise grinned when she was standing back up again.

"Good girl, now try again, I know you can." Miranda reassured the child with a smile.

Emily rarely ever got a chance to see Miranda interact with the twins so she had never seen this softer side of her boss, which was a little strange for her but she did wonder what it would be like to have Louise in the office more often because apparently she had a very calming effect on the place.

Louise giggled and babbled a little before she took a few unstable steps towards the white-haired woman and almost threw herself into Miranda's arms quite happily.

Miranda smiled happily as she held the girl close to her, "Clever girl!"

Andrea could not believe her eyes as she stopped the recording on her phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Miranda Priestly was kneeling on the floor of her inner office with her designer skirt slightly scrunched up at the knees, however, she had a huge smile on her face as her arms were wrapped around the small body of little Louise Sachs.

Louise was standing up on Miranda's knees with her little arms around the woman's neck and her head on Miranda's shoulder. The small child seemed quite relaxed in the woman's arms and had a cheeky grin pasted on her face as she bounced a little with excitement.

The Editor-in-Chief kept her arms around Andrea's young daughter, holding her securely on her lap so that she would not fall.

"Well done, sweetheart." Miranda said softly.

Louise just grinned in response.

"I can't believe she just did that." Andrea commented.

"You better send me that video, Andy because Rena is going to want to see that." Emily said, as surprised as Andy was that the little one was starting to walk.

Andy nodded, "Sure, I'll send it to both of you... well I'll probably send it to everyone."

Miranda looked up at her with a slightly raised eyebrow, "I do hope you're including me in that."

"Of course, Miranda." The dark-haired assistant answered instinctively with a nod and a smile.

"Good." Came the simple reply from the Editor-in-Chief.

Andrea knelt down on the floor nearby, "Aren't you a clever girl? Did you walk to Miranda? Oh yes you did." She said before kissing her daughter's cheek, not taking much notice of how close that put her to Miranda.

Emily, however, did notice and her eyes went comically wide in surprise and then even wider in shock when she noticed how Miranda was not bothered by the fact that her personal space was being invaded.

Miranda simply smiled, "I'm sure that the girls will very much enjoy chasing her around the park when they realise that she can now walk."

Smiling, Andrea nodded, "I bet although they do seem to enjoy carrying her too so they be disappointed if she doesn't want to be."

Louise bounced happily on the Editor-in-Chief's thighs with a huge cheeky grin on her face and her eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Can you say Miranda?" Andrea prompted the little one.

Louise giggled but didn't say it.

Miranda smiled and kissed the little girl's forehead, "Can you say Miranda? Mi-ran-da?"

"Ma!" Louise shouted with excitement, clearly loving the attention that she was getting.

"How about Mira?" Miranda suggested, "Is that easier? Can you say Mira?"

"Mama!" Louise declared quite happily.

Miranda laughed and shook her head, "Mira." She repeated patiently with a smile.

"Mama." Louise repeated in response with a nod, "Mama"

With a shake of her head, Miranda spoke softly, "That's Mama." She said pointing to Andrea, "Mama is there... I am Mira."

"Mama." Louise repeated again.

"Yes, that's Mama and I am Mira... can you say Mira?" Miranda asked pointing to herself.

"Mama." Louise, yet again repeated as she pointed to Miranda.

Andrea laughed, "I guess, you're Mama too..." She said with a slight shrug, not that bothered by it, especially as she was more excited with the progress her child was starting to make.

Miranda raised an eyebrow at the little girl, "I suppose that is the closest I'm going to get, isn't it, sweetheart?"

"Mama!" Louise called out with excitement.

Emily laughed, although she had been trying to hide that fact behind her hand.

Miranda glared briefly at her but it didn't have as much as an impact as it usually did, probably because she was being called 'Mama' and had an infant bouncing on her lap.

"How about Emily?" Andrea asked the little one, "Can you say Emily?"

"Memmeeeee!" Louise shouted happily as she pointed at the redheaded woman.

"I don't think I ever want her to say Emily... I think I want her to keep saying Memmeee, it's so much cuter." Emily commented with a smile.

"I'm sure that could be changed on your employee records if you wish to do so..." Miranda commented with a smirk that was not visible to Emily as Louise was in the way before she added after a very brief pause, "Memee."

Andrea tugged her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth in an attempt not to laugh at what her boss had said whilst Louise continued to happily bounce and Emily stood in the doorway in shock, unsure as to what to do or say in that very moment.

"Loosen up, Emily." Miranda said to the now stuttering woman, "I was only joking." She said with a roll of her eyes.

The phone in the outer office began to ring and Emily left the inner office to go and answer it.

"It's fun to surprise her sometimes." Miranda commented quietly as she continued to play with Louise on the floor of her office.

Andrea smiled and nodded, "Oh, I know."

Miranda simply smiled.

"We should get going, I need to get her some lunch before she starts to kick up a fuss." Andrea commented, "And I'm sure you're very busy, we have taken up enough of your time."

"Your visit has been a very welcome distraction, I do apologise for pulling you both away from the park... especially you, sweetheart." Miranda said although adding the last bit as she spoke directly to the little one who seemed to be soaking up the attention and loving every second of it.

Andrea smiled happily in return and nodded.

"Emily." Miranda called out quietly once she knew that the woman was not on the phone anymore.

Emily came running and stopped in the doorway ready for whatever command was to be thrown from her boss' mouth next.

"Cancel my lunch order, get me a table at that little Italian that I take the girls to." Miranda commanded straight away before turning to Andrea, "I do hope that the both of you will join me for lunch."

Andrea nodded, "We would love to, but aren't you busy with this issue?"

"It will be great practice for when Emily takes over the helm." Miranda commented.

"You're... you're leaving?" Emily stuttered, the shock making her forget the rules.

Miranda shook her head, "Not yet... why? Should I?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No... no... no, of course not." Emily stumbled over her words in a panic.

"We will discuss this when I return." Miranda stated. "Actually... clear my afternoon." She said after thinking for a moment, "If you need anything then do feel free to ask Nigel. You are Editor-in-Chief this afternoon."

"But..." Emily was about to point out everything that had gone wrong that day.

"Are you not capable? Are you not already dealing with the issues that arose today?" Miranda questioned before highlighting, "You have been my assistant for nearly three years and before that you were working as an assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of British Runway, you have worked for Runway since you were sixteen... I don't think there is anything about the magazine that you don't already know."

Emily nodded, still a little nervous.

"You can do it, so cancel my afternoon." Miranda reitterated, "I would like to attend the appointment with Louise and Andrea... if she finds that to be acceptable and then I will be inviting them back to the townhouse with me so that the girls can see Louise's new skill."

Andrea gave a brief nod in agreement with all of what Miranda had said, making the woman smile.

Again, the British woman nodded, "Yes, Miranda."

The white haired woman turned her attention back to the little girl in her lap, "Are you ready for lunch, sweetheart?"

"Mama Ummmm Ummmm." Louise called out with excitement as she bounced on the woman's lap.


	3. Chapter 3

Miranda smiled happily at the little girl in her arms, she was very content and happy to be holding the child and Louise seemed to be the same in her arms.

Andrea was always very protective over her daughter and was very specific in who was allowed to have contact with the child and out of those she was even more specific with who was allowed to pick her up and hold her. Even without realising it, Miranda had always been on that exclusive list. The dark-haired assistant smiled as she watched her boss smiling and playing with her daughter in the inner office of Runway magazine.

Carefully, the Editor-in-Chief held the little girl close to her chest as she cautiously stood up before manoeuvring so that the child was safely resting on the woman's left hip.

The dark-haired woman smiled as she watched the woman she love in such a maternal pose with her own child.

"Are you ready, Andrea?" Miranda questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow when the woman had made no attempts to follow them out of the inner office.

Andrea nodded, "Yes, Miranda," came the automatic response as she grabbed her daughter's belongings and started to push the pushchair towards the elevator when she realised that Miranda had no intentions of putting the girl back into her stroller and instead seemed to want to carry her out to the town car instead.

Various people, mostly clackers, were rather surprised by the sudden appearance of their boss with an infant in her arms. It was definitely not something that they expected that day. Their surprise put a small smirk on Miranda's face, as she was rather amused by it all.

Louise did not notice at all, she just put her head on Miranda's shoulder and gripped the woman's designer shirt with her tiny little fist, "Mama," she mumbled against her.

Miranda smiled at the sound of the little girl's voice and she turned her head to press a soft kiss to the top of Louise's head before looking over to Andrea and smiling softly to her.

As they exited the building of Elias Clarke, Roy stepped forward and opened the car door for them before offering to help Andrea collapse the stroller. He took it from her and carefully placed it into the trunk of the car before he moved back to the car door to close it once the two women and the child were safely inside the car. Roy returned to his seat in the car and once he knew they were secure he started to drive.

He already knew where to go as the text from Emily told him exactly where he needed to take the three of them.

A sudden change in Miranda's schedule was rather normal, however, lunch with an assistant? That was not normal, especially with the assistant's child in tow. Roy smiled, however, as he was already aware that the usually feared Editor-in-Chief was rather fond of the woman and he had already experienced her with her own children so he knew how maternal she could be. He glanced up at the mirror and smiled discreetly at the sight that he saw.

Miranda was sitting beside Andrea, rather close to her, with Louise in her lap. Louise had curled up and was playing with Miranda's hair when a stray white curl had fallen down in front of the woman's face.

Andrea took out her phone and discreetly took a photo of the two of them together. When she put her phone down and looked back at the two of them she blushed slightly as she realised that Miranda knew what she had done. Miranda was watching her with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk on her face. "Sorry... I just..." Andrea started to mumble.

Miranda shook her head, "Don't worry, just make sure that you send me copies of any of the photos that you take," she said softly before she returned her attention to the little girl who was safely secured in her embrace as they drove through the streets of New York City.

The dark-haired woman nodded, "Okay," she agreed with a smile before she took another couple of shots of her daughter with her boss as the little girl laughed and giggled happily in her lap. "Would you like me to send them to your work phone or personal?" Andrea questioned quietly.

"Personal," came the simple response from the white-haired woman.

It did not take them long to travel through the city to the restaurant where they had been booked to have their lunch, and Roy was soon stepping out of the car in order to open the door for them to get out, "Would you like the stroller out for Louise?" He asked before he got it out of the boot.

"Yes, please," Andrea answered at the same time as Miranda said that it would not be needed.

The two women looked at each other whilst Roy opted to play it safe and not interrupt.

"She can sit and eat in it if we take it in," Andrea highlighted.

Miranda shook her head, "She can eat in a high chair or in my lap."

Andrea nodded, "Sorry Roy, we won't need it yet."

Roy nodded and returned to the car so that he would be able to move it off the non-parking zone and into a nearby safe zone to wait for them to finish. He planned on grabbing a snack for lunch whilst he was waiting.

As they entered the restaurant, a woman approached them and greeted them politely before escorting them over to their booked table. It was the same table that Miranda always had when she went to that particular restaurant, although it was usually only the girls that she took to that restaurant. It was never a work lunch or dinner that she had there. It was her way of keeping work and home life a little more separate (something that was always much harder than it sounded).

Miranda sat down with the little girl in her arms, talking softly to her. 

Without asking, the woman had bought over a high chair in case they wanted to use it at any time throughout the meal and she even wiped it down with an antibacterial wipe in front of them to show how clean the high chair would be for the infant. That was an aspect that Andrea was very appreciative of. 

She was looking forward to spending time with her boss in a more private environment, away from work and in a reserved corner of the family-owned Italian restaurant. 


	4. Chapter 4

Driving through the streets of Manhattan, Miranda had Louise in her arms, holding her securely as the little girl laughed and played with the woman’s white locks. 

Andrea smiled and discreetly snapped a couple of photos of Miranda with Louise, making sure to send a couple of the best shots to the woman’s personal cell phone so that she would have them as well. 

Miranda smiled brightly at the little girl and kissed the top of her head before tickling her lightly to make her giggle more than she always was. 

Louise happily played with the stray curl that had fallen from Miranda’s head and hung down in front of her forehead. 

It did not take them long to get from the restaurant to the Children’s hospital where Louise’s heart specialist worked from. 

Roy pulled the car up at the curbside and quickly made his way around the side of the car to open up the car door for them all, “Would you like the pushchair with you? Or would you rather I keep it in the trunk for later?” 

“We’ll take it with us please, Roy,” Andrea answered as she slid out of the car behind Miranda who had got out a little more gracefully, even with the little girl in her arms. 

Louise was bouncing slightly in Miranda’s arms and happily gurgling away to herself in a way that made it look as if she was talking to the Editor-in-Chief, not that the woman could understand very much of what the little girl was apparently telling her. 

Roy got the pushchair out of the trunk of the car and unfolded it, setting it up ready for the infant to go in it although knowing that it was rather unlikely at that point that Miranda would willingly put the little girl into the pushchair as she did not seem that willing to part with her. He could not help but smile at the sight of his boss’ bright smile as it was not often that he was privileged to see such as sight, in fact, it was very rare for anyone to see that. The only things that usually made her smile like that were her two daughters and he had seen, at times, Andrea make her smile in that way. Not that she did it when people were looking of course as that would be terrible for her ‘image’ and devil persona. 

“Thank you, Roy,” Andrea said as she took the pushchair from him. 

As the two women entered the large children’s hospital, Miranda found herself looking around her environment and studying her surroundings as she had never been there before so it was all new to her. 

Louise, however, was not fazed having spent quite a lot of time in the hospital already so she simply continued babbling at Miranda and touching her hair and face. She was clearly rather taken with the usually fierce woman that was carrying her. 

“How often does Louise have to come here?” Miranda asked her assistant as they approached the elevator. She had no idea where she was going so she simply followed her assistant’s lead and went where she was going. 

Andrea sighed softly, “She has check-ups every month here and she spent the first three months of her life in this hospital,” she revealed as she pressed the button to call the elevator to their floor. 

“That must be tough for her and for you,” Miranda commented quietly as they stepped into the elevator as soon as the doors had opened revealing the empty elevator car. 

Andrea nodded, “They’re really good with her and the unit she was in at the beginning was great, they were like a little family so I take her back now and then to see all of the nurses that took care of her and they are always so happy to see her.” 

Miranda smiled in response but held the little one a little closer to her and kissed the top of her head gently, “What is the appointment for today?” 

The dark-haired assistant leaned forward and pressed the button for the seventh floor which was labelled as the cardiology unit with a picture of a heart beside it. “Today, we will be getting her results from the tests that she had done last week,” Andrea explained to her boss as she kept her eyes on her daughter, “They were testing how well her heart is functioning to see whether she…” Andrea paused for a moment to take a breath as she found it hard to say no matter how many times she said it, “To see whether or not she needs a heart transplant yet.” 

“A transplant?” Miranda questioned. 

Andrea simply nodded before adding, “I’ve known since she was born that there was a strong likeliness that she would need a transplant before she goes to kindergarten.” 

Miranda looked down at the little girl in her arms and smiled at her laughter, “You are such a brave little girl, aren’t you?” 

Louise babbled in response and giggled a little. 

It did not take them long for the elevator to arrive on the seventh floor and for the shiny metal doors to open on the floor of the cardiology ward. They both stepped out of the metal box and made their way along the corridor before stopping at a set of brightly painted double doors. The doors were painted with a colourful mural of hearts and rainbows with children playing in the image. 

Andrea stepped to the right of the doors to press a button on the intercom that was attached to the wall. It buzzed and then rang before a voice spoke through the speaker, “Hello, Andrea, I’ll let you straight in.” 

The doors buzzed and clicked then Andrea pushed them open. 

“How did she know it was you?” Miranda questioned. 

“There’s a camera in the intercom box and I’ve been here quite a bit with Louise so the receptionist knows my name… she knows a lot of the regular patients’ names and their parents,” Andrea revealed. 

Once Andrea had checked Louise in to see the specialist at the reception desk, the two women took Louise over to the play area for a while so that she could play before they were called into the appointment. 

That morning, Miranda had never expected that she would spend part of her afternoon on the floor of the children’s hospital in designer clothing playing with colourful wooden bricks. Building up a tower so that a little girl could knock them down and screech with laughter. 


End file.
